The New Folk Art

Tuesday, 23 October 2007 at 10pm on ABC

Is culture a set of elaborate and elaborately-funded life support systems, or an infection that’s trying to attack us? What’s the difference between a symphony orchestra and a covers band (apart from about $40million dollars a year) and why does the Australia Council spend more money on a single opera company than all the visual artists and musicians (not including symphony orchestras) in the country combined?

This week presenter Marcus Westbury meets the artists who have turned Hosier Lane in Melbourne into one of Australia’s prime tourist attractions; hangs out with multimedia musicians The Herd; and wonders why the games industry has so much money but so little content. Creator of the Australian game Escape from Woomera, Katharine Neil, has some ideas why, which she shares with Marcus.

We also find out what uncollectable art is.

Writer/Presenter: Marcus Westbury; Director: Brendan Fletcher; Producer: Frank Haines; Commissioning Editor: Megan Harding

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  • Anonymous

    Saw something about this in the Screen Play blog of the Age today – it looks really good. Does anyone have any more info about it? Is there a web site?

  • Rachel

    That’s all the info we have about it for now sorry.